Children health

MEPs’ rejection of cuts for EU’s Fund for Most Deprived should be followed by more healthy and nutritious food provision

Following the vote by the European Parliament’s Social Affairs Committee on Monday (21 May 2013) rejecting the Commission’s proposal for one billion cut to the Fund for the 2014-2020 European Aid to the Most Deprived, EPHA applauds the Committee’s move whilst asking to re-consider its take on health and nutritional value of the food aid provision to the EU’s poor. The new 2014-2020 programme is intended to replace the Food Distribution Programme designed to (...)

[Pre-announcement] Violence Against Children Report Cards to be launched

On May 30 the European Child Safety Alliance will launch Violence Against Children Report Cards for 29 European countries. This is the first time that Violence Against Children Report Cards are being produced and released across Europe. The Violence Against Children Report Cards assess the extent of harm prevention measures provided to children by examining and grading the adoption, implementation and enforcement of national level, evidence-based policies addressing intentional injury to (...)

[EPHAC response] Review of the CAP schemes providing agricultural products to school children

This article is a contribution to DG Agriculture public consultation on the Review of the CAP Schemes Providing Agricultural Products to School Children EPHAC response to CONSULTATION ON THE REVIEW OF THE CAP SCHEMES PROVIDING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS TO SCHOOL CHILDREN EPHAC response is based on our reflection on the Commission’s consultation background documents. Summary: EPHAC welcomes the opportunity to provide the European Commission with input from a public health angle in (...)

European Immunization Week 2013: Prevent - Protect - Immunize

As the European Immunization Week unfolds (22-27 April 2013), it is worth to re-emphasise immunization as a cost-effective public health preventive measure. It is particularly true in times of economic crisis and public spending cuts affecting essential health services needed to prevent the re-emergence of communicable diseases in Europe (and elsewhere). On an annual basis, for one week in April, all countries across the European Region unite under the European Immunization Week’s (...)

UNICEF Innocenti Report Card: Child Well-being in Rich Countries.

The Report card considers five dimensions of children’s lives: material well-being, health and safety, education, behaviours and risks, and housing and environment. The report is a good example of indicators to be taken into account when developing and monitoring policies that have direct and indirect effect on child well-being, including cross-sectorally. The paper key findings can be summarised as follows: The Netherlands is the leader and the only country ranked among the top (...)

Join proposal to support Recommendations on Child Poverty & Well-being

An Ad hoc group including ATD fourth World, Caritas Europa, Coface, Eurochild, EAPN, Eurodaconia and PICUM have sent a letter to the László Andor, European Commissioner responsible for employment, social affairs and inclusion, calling to better fight child poverty and promote child well-being. The letter has proposed set of guidelines on how to achieve more effective implementation of the Recommendation on Child Poverty and Well-being, by engaging stakeholders and government on local, (...)

[EPT] Child poverty and well being - Council Conclusions (proposal) Toward the European Commission’s Recommendations on Child Poverty and Well-Being (29 March 2013)

European Commission’s Recommendations on Child Poverty and Well-Being In 2010, the European Commission announced its intention to adopt a Recommendation on Child Poverty by 2012. This June 2012, the Social Protection Committee (SPC, part of the DG Employment) produced an advisory report “Tackling and Preventing Child Poverty, Promoting Child Well-being”. The paper will serve as a benchmark to develop the upcoming Child Poverty Recommendations by the EC later in February (...)

Children’s well-being: investing in a healthy future - a silent emergency in Europe

On 27 March, the Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Daciana Octavia SÂRBU (S & D, RO) hosted a seminar on child health, nutrition and education policies. In her speech, EPHA Secretary General Monika Kosińska highlighted why is it important to put child well-being at the heart of EU policies. In her speech, MEP Daciana Octavia SÂRBU (S&D, RO) stressed that good and healthy nutrition have a crucial impact on children life expectancy and that the role of the parents in (...)

“Investing in children: breaking the cycle of disadvantage” recommends EU’s Social Investment Package

The European Commission has recently proposed a Social Investment Package - a framework that sets up a number of recommendations to promote social protection and investments in people skills and capability. One of the elements of the package is to ”Invest in Children and Break the cycle of Disadvantages” which encourages regional and local authorities to follow EU guidelines on reducing child poverty and social exclusion, and promote well-being. Reducing the risk of poverty (...)

[EPT] Fund for European Aid - European Fund - Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (updated on 18 March)

Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived The European Commission (DG Employment) has proposed to set up a European Aid Fund to help the most deprived persons in the EU. A successor to the Food Aid to the Most Deprived, this new Fund would support member state schemes not only by providing food aid to the most deprived people, but also clothing and other essential goods to homeless people and materially-deprived children (such as shoes, soap and shampoo). The proposal is yet to be (...)